Roman Reigns may have far more influence over his WWE creative direction than fans realize. A bold new claim suggests the World Champion has significant control over his storylines, with his backstage power compared to the kind of influence traditionally reserved for wrestling’s biggest stars.
On a recent episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff argued that nobody currently working in WWE or AEW carries the kind of natural star presence Reigns has, and made clear he doesn’t believe that quality can be taught or written into a performer through booking alone.
According to Bischoff, the moment Reigns walks through the curtain, audiences instantly recognize they’re looking at a star, no backstory or match history required, and that presence alone lets him command a stadium crowd without saying a word.
When you look at Roman Reigns from across an arena, you’re looking at a star. Whether you could be dropped out of a freaking spaceship, find yourself planted firmly inside of an arena or a stadium, and when Roman Reigns walks through that curtain, you don’t need to know his backstory… you know you’re looking at a star.
Bischoff also waded into the more contentious question of how much creative control top stars actually hold behind the scenes. He pointed back to the criticism he faced during his WCW days for giving Hulk Hogan creative control, and argued that fans who assume stars like Reigns or Brock Lesnar don’t have similar influence over their own storylines are simply misunderstanding how the business operates at that level.
Bischoff didn’t soften the point, insisting that performers who reach that tier of stardom always have a real say in their own creative direction.
I’m going to jump in here and point one thing out. Again, and not so much anymore, but I used to be criticized often for allowing Hulk Hogan to have creative control. If any of you dirt sheet morons out there think that Brock Lesnar did not have creative control, that Roman doesn’t, you are more clueless than even I can imagine.
